Between the Earth and the Moon
by Analogk37
Summary: A short oneshot KaToph tale about a warm sleepless summer night, a full moon, and just a hint of conflict.


A/N: This little story takes place a few years after the end of the TV series. I claim no ownership over any of the characters... even the movie versions. You know who they belong to. ;)

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Between the Earth and the Moon

By Analogk37

Her eyes could not see the light, but Toph could still sense the fullness of the moon on this warm summer evening. From the natural patio just outside her home, the pressure that the heavenly body exerted at her earthen feet was immense. Her toes dug into the ground, measuring the expanse of its force…a force that she subconsciously tried to connect with the person she had undoubtedly hurt.

Toph had wrestled with how to express the growing strength of her feelings for the other woman over the last few months. Even though Toph had never had an issue speaking her mind before, dealing with an unfamiliar sense of attraction had managed to silence her voice. "Maybe that's why I screwed up so bad. I never even gave her a chance…"

From the soles of her feet, ripples shot into her body like a fireball. Toph immediately spread out into a defensive posture trying to gage where attack was coming from. But in the next instant, a mental image pierced her sightless mind… that of a full, angry moon pulsing through the air and enveloping everything around her. And then, Toph felt its force not just in her feet, but up through her legs, her torso, her arms, all the way to her fingertips. She couldn't move an inch, as if her veins were full of ice. She was frozen in place.

"No, you didn't," a pained, icy voice rasped from inside the house, through the swung open patio doors and to Toph's shocked ears.

"But… I thought you were asleep…" the earthbender rattled out, finding only her mouth and vocal cords functioning at the moment… with her mind full of fears of just how the other woman had become so proficient with this form of 'bending'.

"How am I supposed to get any sleep after that… that… stunt you pulled tonight!"

The words stung Toph almost as much as the pain her muscles felt from being locked in place. "I… I'm sorry…"

"Sorry? Sorry? What kind of explanation is that?"

The only responses the shorter woman could muster were a few streaks of moisture from the corners of her pale eyes.

The other woman's voice dulled as she filled in the tense silence. "I thought our friendship meant more to you than that. I don't understand Toph. Why would you do that… to **me** of all people! How could you…"

"Because I care for you Katara! I… I've felt this way for weeks now…" the earthbender bluntly cried out. But her voice suddenly went silent. This time her words weren't stuck in her throat as they had been, this time they were physically blocked off.

"That's enough Toph," Katara ordered her unwilling friend.

Through her feet, Toph could feel the waves of emotion swelling from deep inside the waterbender. Those waves reminded Toph of similar sensations of a time not too very distant in the past, rolling images of heartbreak and anguish inside her mind. Then from behind her, Katara's voice broke through the images and brought her back to the present… but only for a moment.

"You know what happened between me and Aang. When he left me for his Avatar duties, I told you that the worst part wasn't losing my fiancé, it was losing my best friend. And now… now after you helped me for the last year, you… its… its like I'm losing my best friend all over again. I can't take it. I **can't** do this again!"

The waves of anger raced through Toph's body like a Tsunami, her body trembling, shaking… but it wasn't her own response. Katara was still in control. But in the midst of the rage, everything went deathly still. Toph's nerves grew even more wary as she realized that she couldn't even feel the ground through her feet… Katara had somehow even taken control over her physical senses. She was blind to the world.

And then, her arms rose above her head like a puppet on a string.

More images began to race through the earthbender's mind, images of the destruction Katara had wrought in some desolate mountainous region shortly after Aang had left her. Toph had helped to build up huge mounds of earthen targets, square miles in breadth. Katara had wiped them off the face of the earth in a mere matter of seconds.

From witnessing Katara's rage unleashed and knowing just how emotional she was right now, Toph feared she would be destroyed even faster than her woman-made mountain range had been. But instead of the sounds of crumbling mountains, her ears heard the sound of music…

… and the next moment her body was dancing to the slow, melodious rhythms. Spinning around, her feet tapped out the pitch and the tune. Her arms gracefully swung in completed arcs and weaved lattices of grace that the earthbender had been unable and even unwilling to try before. Dancing had been one of the ties to Katara's past with Aang, a relic from their adventures inside the Fire Nation. As such, it felt awkward at best when Katara had unpacked the phonograph and set it up in her house. She had only tried to play it twice, with the second attempt ending after a series of complaints and insults Toph had thrown out at Katara. The reason was simple: Katara had wanted to teach Toph to dance… and the earthbender had no interest in it whatsoever. Dance movements were just a way to disorient a person with no sight, just an excuse to cause another trip or fall, just another reason to be laughed at. But now, she had no choice in the matter.

The music swelled to a crescendo, sending Toph striding across large swaths of her house. Then the music quieted, the vocals pausing, the violins stringing the music slowly and softly for the moment. With beads of sweat running down her forehead, Toph took a deep breath, frantically gathering her wits and attempting to guess as to Katara's next move. But before she could get too far in her thoughts, her questions were at least partially answered for her. Toph's own arms were raised up and she felt her body encircled by another pair of arms. So when the musical rhythm picked up the pace again a few seconds later, Toph and Katara were dancing in step… albeit with only one of them truly dancing. Toph was still just along for the ride.

Frustration began to boil in the earthbender's blood despite, or more likely because, the lack of control over her own body. Even as her feet gracefully stepped in rhythm, Toph growled under her own breath… and then realized she could hear her own voice again. "Why are you doing this Katara!" she immediately fired out before the taller woman could silence her again.

"Careful Toph, keep complaining and I will make you dance all night long," she replied.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Is that a challenge?"

Toph growled again, but knew she was at a severe disadvantage. "No… no…"

"Good!" Katara answered, sending Toph into a pirouette, just for kicks.

"Kataraaaaaaa!" the earthbender complained in response, her voice inflecting wildly as her body spun in place… only to be instantly stopped by the waterbender's body, pressing tightly against her own.

The music stopped with Katara holding Toph close, but with her body still under the bloodbender's spell. "I still don't see why you wouldn't let me teach you to dance before."

"I don't like dancing."

"So you aren't enjoying this?" Katara queried, tightening her arms around Toph's waist.

Her cheeks flushed, but Toph wasn't going to relent just yet. "No I'm not."

"And why is that," the waterbender baited.

"You know why!"

"No I don't," Katara teased. "You are going to have to spell it out for me."

Toph grumbled under her breath again, planning on resisting as long as she could. However, her body lifted up on her toes, her arms lifting up again as if in preparation to start dancing again. "Katara! Stop controlling my body!"

"What was that? Control?" Katara mocked.

"You're just taking advantage of me right now!"

Toph couldn't see it, but Karata smiled at her friend. "And you didn't do that earlier tonight?"

The earthbender opened her mouth, but stopped her argument. She quickly realized she didn't really have one to even offer. Toph finally let out a deep, defeated sigh. "Okay…. Point taken…. Katara…" Toph started to explain before her words were silenced again. This time it was not a physical demand but a vocal request instead.

"Shhh," Katara softly spoke to her. Katara reached towards the phonograph with one hand and motioned, causing water inside a bowl next to the device to rise up and solidify around the hand crank, spinning in several times over. The music started up again, and Katara led Toph in a slow, methodical dance step, still holding her tightly with her arms and her bending.

Toph was still taken aback that Katara would continue to force her to move. But before she could muster another protest, she felt her muscles begin to relax and flow on their own.

"Keep up with me," Katara whispered into her ear.

The warmth of the other woman's breath warmed Toph's own heart even as she regained more and more control over her movements. But she struggled with the dance steps at first. However, after a few moments her body seemed to catch up with the orchestrated movements, as if her limbs had been soaking up the waterbender's knowledge the entire time.

Their intertwined bodies swayed in perfect harmony during the next few stanzas, gracefully flowing from one corner of the room to the next, quick stepping through the hurried tempos and then smoothly arching close when the music slowed again.

Finally, the phonograph fell silent, the crank handle motionless. Katara and Toph stood face to face in the center of the room, still holding each other tightly. The dark skinned woman relaxed her grip and leaned back for just a moment, lifting one hand in front of her. With one finger she reached forward and gently brushed the tip of it against Toph's lips.

Mesmorized, Toph could only stand in place, her body turned to stone not by bending but by the spell the dance and Katara's intimate gesture had placed over her.

Circling the earthbender's lips with her finger, Katara spoke from beyond her conquered fears and from the depth of her heart. "The next time you want to kiss me, just ask."

_~~Fin~~_

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_Postmortem: This story was penned on a whim from Tycoris1307. If you are so inclined, go check out her stuff and give her some feedback too. :)_


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